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Knockdown and rebuild or renovate your home?

February 4, 2015 7min read

Realising that your home isn’t quite right for your current needs is one thing, but deciding how to actually go about improving the situation is another. If you like the location you live in but no longer happy with the structure, size or interior of the house itself, moving elsewhere clearly isn’t the answer.

Luckily, there are a great deal of home renovation, upgrade, and rebuild options these days for people who are looking to change their existing homes, whether minimally or drastically, to suit their lifestyles. If this sounds like you, the important thing is to figure out the best move based on your budget, location, members of your household, and other relevant factors.

So when it comes to your beloved home, is it better to renovate or just knock down and rebuild? Keep reading to get both sides of the story.

Renovating

If there’s only a specific section of your home that you want to update (with kitchens or bathrooms being two common examples), renovating will likely be the most ideal option for you.

While renovations aren’t usually as extensive as knockdown and rebuilds, it’s still important to have a comprehensive renovation plan in place that takes into account the state of your current house and the renovations you want to conduct. This plan should also realistically detail all the materials you’d require and any professional assistance you might need in the process.

Figure out if you’ll need to obtain any building permits or if there are any building laws you need to be aware of. Researching this early will give you an idea of your limitations when it comes to renovating your home, and allow you to get any permit applications out of the way ahead of schedule.

Seek out advice and input from home building and design professionals, especially if this is your first renovation or one you’re carrying out yourself. Whether it’s in regards to changes in the physical structure of your home or its exterior and interior appearance, having an expert weigh in will ensure you don’t run into any obstacles during the renovation process. Invest in and employ builders, designers and tradesmen you trust.

Make sure that your finances are in place for the renovation and carefully keep track of everything you’re spending. If you need a home or building loan, consult your banker as soon as possible in the early planning stages.

Knockdown and rebuilds

Knocking down your home and rebuilding from scratch is a completely different ball game than simply renovating a room or two. However, rebuilding does offer significant benefits for those who are looking to either completely revamp their living space or sell off their property in the future.

Rebuilding your home means that, first and foremost, you’ll need to have your block of land assessed. You’ll also need to talk to your council about any issues with planning controls, zoning, and guidelines that may present obstacles which will help you to determine the rebuild possibilities for your block.

Working out your budget is the next crucial step. Consider the purpose of your new home – are you intending to live there for the foreseeable future? Or are you planning to sell off the property to see a return on investment sooner? If the latter, conducting your own research to find out the growth potential of your property can help you to gauge your level of investment. The general rule is that the less time you plan to own your property, the less money you should put into the rebuild.

Browsing through design options will undoubtedly be an extensive one, taking into account the special features of your site as well as what you want your new home to include. Chatting frequently to rebuild consultant will help take some of the stress out of this process and guide you through choosing the perfect house design to suit you.

Once you’ve have your house design in place, you will need to be approved for planning and building permits which may take several weeks. After this, you can sit back and watch your dream home come to life.

Whether a renovation or a knockdown and rebuild is the better choice for you, both options require a great deal of research, planning, guidance and patience, therefore seeking the expertise of building and design professionals through either process highly recommended.

If you’re leaning towards knockdown and rebuilding, our rebuild specialist team at Porter Davis are highly experienced who can guide you through the entire process – from initial site assessments to permit applications and the design and build of the new home itself. If you’d like to chat to our rebuild team about knocking down and rebuilding new, contact us today for a comprehensive and hassle-free consultation.